The Darkness Within
by chibi-goddess-thor
Summary: After her revival, Sakura faces the nightmares that plague her of the world beyond.  To lay these dreams to rest, she must defeat her worst enemy...herself.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen or any characters thereof. The play scene was taken from volume 2 of the manga.

After her revival, Sakura faces the nightmares that plague her of the world beyond. To lay these dreams to rest, she must face her worst enemy…herself.

AU, based loosely on events from "Shin Ai Yue Ni"

Maria x Sakura

Rating: PG-13 for blood

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She was surrounded by several downed Wakiji, panting heavily as their boss appeared, taking innocents hostage.

She'd always been prepared to give her life for the safety of the capital, but even so, she wasn't prepared for the final blow. His sword flashed, coming away with her blood. The wound across her chest was fatal, her quickly dimming consciousness registered as she fell backwards, the crimson liquid following the path of his sword.

Her breath hitched in her throat as the pain hit her, crippling whatever reserves she had left and she hit the ground, weak and dying. Her blood darkened her soft pink kimono as her lifeless eyes stared at the sun overhead.

The sky suddenly inverted, the burning sun becoming the cold moon, the blue sky becoming dark and the landscape followed suit. There was a cold creeping feeling along her hands and wrists. She managed to lift her right arm to look at her hand. Dark tendrils of demonic power were tattooing themselves onto her skin.

Somewhere, a soft voice echoed, "_You're no better. No better than the Wakiji. You're unnatural, the dead don't come back to life!"_

The dark tendrils moved from her wrists to the skin of her back, imprinting themselves onto her. There was a sudden jolt as a powerful stream of _reiryoku_ surged into her body, rejuvenating it.

A sudden splitting pain brought her out of her dream, if it could be called such. She was in her room, covered in a cold sweat. Her wound ached, though it had been healed by Kohran's medi-pod.

She donned a heavy robe as she headed down to the kitchen for a drink. The hallways were dark as she padded quietly down the stairwell.

Maria was completing her night watch duties as she heard a light thud against one of the walls. She loosened her Enfield from its holster, grasping it lightly in case the intruder was dangerous. She relaxed as she saw it was only Sakura shielding her eyes from the sudden light of the lantern.

"Is something the matter?" The Russian asked, noting how Sakura leaned on the wall for support.

"No," Sakura answered softly, lowering her hand slowly now that her eyes were adjusted to the light.

"Then why are you wandering around this time of night?" Maria questioned.

"I was going to the kitchens to get something to drink, that's all," Sakura said.

"I think I'll join you," Maria nodded.

"But you just finished your rounds, didn't you? You don't need to stay up any later because of me." Sakura said. The room suddenly felt a little colder, so she tightened her grip on the front of her robe. When she noticed the almost imperceptible narrowing of her friend's eyes, she knew any further refusals on her part wouldn't matter.

The Russian had become more protective of her since _that_ day. Well…so had the others in the Hanagumi, but Maria more so.

"Don't worry about me, Maria-san. You should go to sleep." Sakura tried one more time, standing away from the wall and in front of Maria, attempting the same confident stare that made so many others back down.

"No." was her definite answer as the Russian turned to accompany her.

Sighing, the younger woman walked forward slowly, Maria matching her steps.

They reached the dining hall with no incident. Maria headed into the kitchen as Sakura sat down at one of the tables. The Russian soon returned with two glasses of water and sat across from Sakura. The raven-haired girl accepted the glass of cool water, wincing slightly as her phantom wound decided to act up again.

"I'm fine." She interjected before Maria spoke. "I'm…just fine. It's nothing to worry about."

She looked up to see Maria's shocked emerald gaze trained on her. Sakura had no idea what possessed her to say that. Yes, it hurt, but she didn't need people babying her all the time. She turned her gaze back to the table and took a small sip of water from her glass.

Maria knew her sudden overprotective urge to send Sakura straight back her room was irrational, but she also knew that Sakura had been through a lot and had to deal with everybody fussing over her. Her emerald eyes watched Sakura swirling her glass around, watching the water pensively as it made a small whirlpool, returned to normal, and returned to the whirlpool. Over and over and over…

"Is something bothering you, Sakura?" She spoke her friend's name for the first time that night.

The swordswoman gently put the cup down, watching the final whirlpool settle in the clear water. "The water tastes strange tonight." She said in a low voice, not looking at Maria. Sakura stood up slowly, feigning a smile as she waved to Maria. "Thank you for accompanying me, but I think it's time for me to go back to bed."

She left a stunned Russian behind as she left the dining hall. Maria picked up Sakura's glass and inspected it carefully before taking a small sip from it herself. It tasted just fine and like water should, nothing.

Sakura returned to her room, managing to make it to her bed before collapsing from the pain the wound was causing her.

"Why didn't I just tell her the truth?" she whispered to herself.

_"Because you're afraid to admit it yourself. You know what the water really tasted like. It tasted like—"_

"Blood." She answered softly before succumbing to the sweet darkness of sleep.

The next few days followed without incident.

Practice continued for their reproduction of Ai Yueni without any problems. Sakura showed no further signs of the odd behavior of that one night, but Maria could feel something…different about her. She had consulted Kanna on this feeling, but Kanna hadn't noticed anything. Regardless, Maria had kept a closer eye on Sakura.

Sakura had also noticed the slight changes. She had the same nightmare regularly, although the twisting darkness tattooed itself on a different part of her body. She thought nothing of it or the random bouts of amnesia during training or when she was simply walking around the hallways at first, but there were times when she felt another presence talking to her although there was often nobody else around.

At first it wasn't so bad, sure the food tasted a little…funny, but she got used to it. The practices were going fine. That is…

The day before the performance. The dress rehearsal where they ran through everything, including breaks between acts and intermission. Everything went well until they got to the final act, her duet with Maria. Well, everything except this continuously growing pressure on her chest since the first scene. At first, she attributed it to nerves, silently telling herself that it would go away after a while. She was covered with a thin sheen of perspiration by the end of the first act. The intermission gave a small reprieve as the pressure lifted little by little.

_Don't go back there._ The voice whispered. _It'll only end up hurting us. _

"I have to," she whispered softly, "I can't let the others down. They've all worked so hard to put this together."

The bell that signaled five minutes before the end of the intermission rang, sending an unexplainable wave of nausea throughout her entire body.

_Don't do it._ The voice pleaded. _It hurts too much._

Sakura was inclined to believe this voice as she moved to stage left, where she was to enter the scene, the pressure was back in full force. She glanced out to the audience, comprised solely of Yoneda. If things got bad, she could escape easily.

_Wait…escape? _Sakura thought incredulously, _since when would I need to escape from the Teigeki? Where'd that come from?_

She shook her head, wincing at how light-headed she seemed.

"Sakura-han, is something wrong?" Kohran asked, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

_YES!_ The voice screamed.

"N-no." Was the swordswoman's shaky reply. "I'm fine."

Kohran frowned slightly, but left it at that.

Halfway through the second act, Sakura's nausea got so bad she had to slip away to the restroom unnoticed. She left the stall as soon as she finished, heading to the sink to wash out the horrible taste. Her legs shook as she supported herself on the counter. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror hanging above the sink. Her skin was unusually pale and her eyes were dull. Another wave of nausea passed over her as spiritual energy from the rehearsal reached her even in the bathroom.

"_There isn't a choice anymore. We have to get out of this place before we are both destroyed!_" She whispered to herself. She stared at her reflection, not caring how it had changed. Her eyes had changed colors from the soft chocolate brown to a dark crimson. She could more acutely feel the strong purifying energy expanding as the play neared its climax. The next thing she felt was a sharp pain in her left hand as she slammed the side of her fist into the mirror, shattering it and sending the pieces clattering onto the counter and floor. She looked at her bleeding hand, clenching it experimentally and watching red blood ooze from multiple wounds. Droplets of blood fell onto the pristine white countertop as she smashed the other mirror with the same hand, noting with a twisted sense of satisfaction that the pain blocked the nausea. All she had to do was will the shards imbedded in her skin to drop to the counter and they did so, looking like blood colored rubies. More droplets fell to follow the shards. She smirked as she left the destruction behind her.

There was nobody in the changing room as she entered. She made a beeline towards her neatly folded clothing and changed, not caring that her hand bled all over it. She left the room, heading around the stage and through the main entrance to leave.

"Sakura-san? Are you done with rehearsal already?"

She turned to see Tsubaki tending to the shop, but she didn't answer. Instead, she started walking slowly over.

"Eh? Did something go wrong during the—whoa, what happened to your hand? Wh-what are you doing?" Her voice was rising in pitch as Sakura approached holding her bloodied hand out, palm facing the floor.

"_Be quiet!"_ She said, throwing her energy at the younger girl. Tsubaki was thrown against the wall, her mouth open to scream, but no sound came out. As she slumped down to the floor, she heard Sakura continuing to come toward her. She made the mistake of looking directly into the swordswoman's crimson eyes, feeling herself suddenly becoming drugged. Her mind vaguely registered the fact that the tips of two gleaming fangs emerged from Sakura's mouth or that she was being gently positioned so that her neck was completely exposed. Tsubaki felt the points break the skin and shuddered as a sudden wave of pleasure swept across her body. If whatever blocked her voice wasn't there, she would've moaned at the gentle suckling on her neck. It was over too soon and her body was laid on the floor. Before she knew it, the presence next to her was gone.

Sakura had been forced to leave the girl alive much to her sudden dismay. Footsteps were heading towards the store counter.

"Tsubaki-chan! Are you goofing off again?" Kaede called. "Tsubaki-chan!" The last thing she remembered was a flash of red before being caught in a daze.

Sakura did the same to the older woman as she had done to Tsubaki, enjoying the feel of the warm blood flowing into her mouth and down her throat. She stopped short of draining Kaede, again leaving her alive. She dragged the woman over to where Tsubaki lay, both of them looking as though they were only sleeping. She didn't bother cleaning up the trail of blood from Kaede.

Sated with blood, Sakura felt stronger and more able to deflect the spirit energy from the play. She carefully wiped the crimson liquid from around her mouth, licking it off of her hand. Her fangs retracted to normal length and she appeared nothing more than human again.

Back on the stage, Sakura had not yet been missed because there had been no need. Clementine was being held as the queen's prisoner.

"Andre," the queen addressed the kneeling soldier, "Do you think I don't know?"

"Madame?" Andre asked.

"You--! It is rumored that you are in love with some lowly peasant girl!" The queen turned away from him in disgust. "The worm has probably poisoned your mind with treasonous thoughts! You're being deceived, Andre!"

Andre stood up suddenly, "No…!" he shouted, "Clementine would never do such a…"

"You don't say," the queen looked directly at him. "Then…" She opened her fan with a deft flick of her wrist, "Why don't you ask her directly?" She smirked at the confused look on her vassal's face before turning to the small servant, "Bring her hither, Millene!"

"Y-yes, your highness." Millene curtsied and headed off stage to get Clementine. She returned a few minutes later, much longer than it should have taken to get her.

"Um…she's not where she is supposed to be. I cannot find her anywhere, milady!"

"Stop!" Yoneda called out from the audience, "Iris, what do you mean she's not back there?"

"Iris doesn't know! Sakura isn't back here!"

"Yoneda-shihainin," Kohran spoke up, "I saw her at the beginning of the second act. She wasn't looking too good, but she told me that she was feeling fine." All eyes were on her. "I didn't think she'd actually run off without telling anybody."

Yoneda grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose before saying, "Alright, we'll end there for today. Everybody get changed and then we'll look for Sakura. Kohran, since you're already out of costume, start checking around the bathrooms. You too, Kanna."

"Yes, sir!" They rushed off towards the girl's bathroom, Kohran knocked on the door first. "Hey, Sakura-han? Are ya in there?"

Of course, there was no answer.

"Move over, Kohran, I'm not sure she heard you." She knocked, "Oi, Sakura? We're coming in!"

She pushed the door open, her eyes widening in shock at the mess.

"Kohran?" She called back weakly, "Go get Maria. We have a little…situation."

"Eh?" Kohran peeked in, covering her mouth in shock as her eyes registered the disaster. She backed up slowly, hesitatingly starting down the hallway before breaking into a full out run.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura Taisen characters. I'd write something witty here, but my mind isn't quite the same at 1 in the morning, savvy?

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The two oldest members stood inside the damaged bathroom.

"I dunno, Maria, there's something that's not right here." Kanna winced at the sight of the broken mirrors. "Iris said she felt nothing and _nothing_ gets by that girl. I just can't see Sakura doing something drastic like this. She's just too…"

"Gentle." Maria finished. "She'd never lash out at anyone, least of all herself." She added softly.

"Exactly." Kanna said, smiling sadly at her friend's downcast stare. "Hey, I'm sure she's okay, wherever she is." She placed a tan hand on Maria's shoulder.

"Thank you." The Russian quietly said.

"WAH! Iris doesn't want to!!"

They ran out of the bathroom to find Iris standing firmly in the hallway before the main entrance, holding Jean Paul close to her. Tears clouded her bright blue eyes.

"Hey, what happened?" Kanna knelt down beside the frightened girl.

"Tsubaki…Kaede!" Iris wept before whimpering and teleporting herself back to her room. Reni came over from the stretchers being moved away by the members of the Tsukigumi to the medi-pods.

"They are both alive. Just barely, but alive. The nature of their wounds would be best described as a demon attack." A disturbed look passed over her face, "They each suffered from a bite to the neck."

"What do you know about Sakura?" Maria asked

"Her whereabouts are unknown." Reni answered. "She may have been taken by the demon."

"And the demon made her change her outfit?" Orihime pointed out as she walked up. "No, I think not."

Maria sighed. Nothing made any sense; the mess in the bathroom, Sakura's change of clothing was gone, two other members of the Kagekidan were attacked.

"And to make matters worse, there's blood all over the floor." Kanna sighed, walking over to the trail and following it to the counter. "It's getting weirder by the minute."

Orihime watched as Kanna dipped two fingers into the blood, a disgusted look flashing across her face before she turned back to the blond Russian. "Maria-san, what exactly is she doing?"

"Trying to determine how long ago it happened. If the blood's still fresh enough, it means that the demon or Sakura or both haven't gone that far." Maria watched unperturbed as the Okinawan walked back towards them.

"It's barely started to coagulate," Kanna started, "Tsubaki and Kaede were found at least ten minutes ago. Based on that timeframe, it should be way thicker than this." She rubbed her forefingers against her thumb, the red liquid running easily across her skin.

"So there's an anti-coagulant in the blood?" Reni asked, receiving a nod.

"It looks that way." Kanna took the handkerchief Maria offered her, wiping her fingers off gingerly. "Crap, this means they could be anywhere by now…"

"…and we're all standing here debating this…why?" the Italian waved her hand impatiently. "There's a blood-sucking demon loose in Tokyo, Sakura's missing along with it and we're standing here debating what time they left?!"

Maria ran a hand through her platinum blonde locks. _There must be_ something _we're forgetting!_ She sighed, the voices of the others slowly fading as she concentrated. Her thoughts wandered to Iris standing in the hall clutching her teddy bear to her chest. Something had spooked the child. Wait…

"We forgot to ask her…" she murmured to herself, cutting the conversation short as everyone looked at her.

"Ask who?" Kanna asked.

"Iris." Maria started towards the dorm area. "She must've seen _something_."

"Oi, Maria!" The red-head called towards the retreating Russian. "Be gentle with her! She must be traumatized by the whole thing!" She sighed as Maria continued running. "This is starting to turn into a real mess…"

"Nooo..." Orihime replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

Maria arrived outside Iris' room shortly afterward. She heard soft sobbing through the door and paused before knocking softly.

"Iris? It's Maria, can I come in?"

There was a pause before the door opened by itself. Maria walked in slowly, closing the door behind her. The little French girl had barricaded herself in the farthest corner of her bed, setting her stuffed animals in a phalanx around her. Jean Paul was, as always, closely hugged to her chest.

"Is it okay if I sit here?" Maria motioned to a spot on the corner of the girl's bed. Iris nodded slowly, her blue eyes searching the Russian's emerald gaze.

"You're all looking for Sakura?" she said softly as Maria sat down.

"Yes. We're also looking for the demon who attacked Kaede and Tsubaki."

The smaller blond broke eye contact, looking off to her side. She hugged Jean Paul a little tighter. Maria noticed Iris' strange behavior.

"If you know something that would help us find them, you need to tell me."

"Iris doesn't want to…"

"Why?" Maria moved a little closer, trying to regain eye contact. "Iris, look at me."

When the French girl finally met the Russian's gaze again, her eyes were brimming with tears. Maria was taken aback. What did the girl know that upset her so much? Damn, she was starting to feel guilty for asking…

"Iris…? Oof!" Maria exhaled sharply as Iris suddenly launched herself at the Russian, clamping firmly to her waist. She groaned internally, she wasn't used to dealing with children. She placed a comforting hand on the younger girl's back.

"It was Sakura…" Iris whispered softly. Maria had to strain her ears to hear the smaller girl's next words. "Sakura's been possessed…"

Her eyes widened considerably. Possessed? Well…it certainly helped to explain a lot of things, like the destroyed bathroom and the change of clothing. As for the attack on Kaede and Tsubaki, hadn't Iris said there was no malicious intent? A demonic possession was usually nothing short of malicious and…erg…it made everything that much more complicated. She mentally winced, now that she had the information she needed, finding Sakura was somewhat easier but she needed to somehow gently peel the French girl from her waist. If only…

-BREET!- -BREET!-

How ironic…saved by the alarm that usually meant destruction.

"There have been a large amount of Wakiji reported in the Asakusa district. We believe they are trying to reconstruct the Crimson Miroku's tower." Commander Yoneda addressed the uniformed girls around the table. "As Oogami has not returned from his errands, I'm naming Maria as your acting captain in the field. Your mission is to prevent the tower from being rebuilt."

"Imperial Floral Assault Troupe, move out!" Maria ordered.

"Roger!"

Minutes later, they arrived to find a half-destroyed tower along with massive hordes of broken down Wakiji.

"Iris doesn't like this…" the small girl murmured as her Koubu's optical lens swiveled around to survey the destruction. One of the Wakiji's upper halves sparked into movement, grabbing for the golden Koubu's leg, the latter moving swiftly behind the red mecha as it slammed its clawed hand through the offender's head.

"Commander Yoneda, do you read me?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, we can hear you." his voice crackled across the speakers.

"The Wakiji--" Maria started.

"Were somehow destroyed before you got there, right?" Yoneda finished. "We're working on that right now." He looked over Kasumi's shoulder at the readout. "Meanwhile, finish off the tower, and be careful…there's a powerful demonic presence lingering in the area."

"Copy that." Maria tensed, "we have movement."

A lone figure moved slowly along the ground. It started, stopped, then started again, moving as though controlled by a bad puppeteer. It peeled itself off the ground, standing weakly, its shoulders hunched and head hung low. There were several gasps of horror as each Hanagumi member recognized the man in his ticket-taking uniform and untamed hair.

"Oogami-taichou! Chief! Onii-chan!" came their mixed cries as the controlled man stumbled towards them. There was no response on his part, however, a low chuckling filled the air.

"Now, now," a silky tenor voice said as the black koubu trained its cannon on its owner. "I came to return him peacefully and you greet me with weaponry?"

A dark figure materialized from the darkness behind Oogami. His dark hair fell gracefully around his shoulders. His outfit consisted of a dark kimono, similar to Aoi Satan's, but intricate crimson symbols were woven near the hem of his sleeves. A slender hand rested on the hilt of his own sword, almost inviting an attack despite his words.

"Oi, I don't think 'controlled' equals a peaceful return!" Kanna growled, raising her koubu's fist and shaking it at the stranger.

"Well, I would consider it better than dead, wouldn't you agree?" he purred, stepping forward again. His garnet eyes glinted in the dark, "Besides…it wasn't me who put him in this state."

"Maria-han, this whole thing reeks of demons." Kohran warned.

_Yes, tell me something I _don't _ know__, Kohran_ Maria silently answered the Chinese engineer. She kept her cannon trained on the demon in front of her.

"If you didn't, as you so claim, put Oogami in this position, then who did?" she asked.

"Is that supposed to be a rhetoric question?" He answered, smiling knowingly at the Russian's following silence. "Then I'll answer for the sake of those who don't already know. Your friend in the pink kimono attacked him."

"Sakura-san?" Orihime asked incredulously from her koubu. "You must be sadly mistaken. Sakura-san would never--"

"Sakura isn't currently in her normal state of mind." Maria carefully said, "At this point, we need to expect anything from her. Even attacks."

"What?" the Italian demanded, "Maria-san, are you implying that Sakura-san has gone crazy?!"

"…Not at all."

"Ok, now you're not making _any_ sense!" the red koubu turned to face the black one, its arms waving about.

"Would it be enough to say I'll explain what I mean later?" Maria sighed in exasperation. Kanna fell silent along with Orihime.

"…fine." They both agreed.

"That's a _fine_ answer," the demon chuckled, "you ladies should be more concerned about this person here. He's the one in immediate danger, not your friend."

"And _you_…" Maria narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Why are you here? You are a demon, aren't you?"

"Mmm, yes, I am a demon," he said slowly, a disarming smile on his face. "and as for why I'm here, I already told you. I came to return him." He placed his hand on Oogami's shoulder, causing the ticket-taker to sink to the ground with a sigh. An unsure look passed over the demon's face. "Um…aahh…" he glanced around sheepishly, "That wasn't supposed to happen…"

There was silence.

"Iris," Maria cautiously said, "Take the captain and teleport him back to headquarters. We will meet you there shortly."

"Yes, sir!"

The golden koubu moved forward as the demon moved back, eventually making it to the fallen man. There was a flash of gold light and they were both gone.

"Well, there's my bit of charity for today…" The demon crossed his arms, a satisfied smile adorning his pale face. He turned to leave, whistling softly as he left a stunned group of women behind him.

"Oi….Oi!" Kanna yelled after him, "You don't really expect us to believe that you, a _demon_ of all things, came from _wherever_ just to return a person?"

He paused in both his walking and whistling to turn back to face them. A thoughtful look passed across his face.

"Based on your tone, no," he held his hands in a 'what-do-you-want-me-to-do' gesture, "did you expect me to tear down your city block by bloody block as my hordes of ravenous demons swoop down upon the helpless citizens to savor their flesh?"

"Well….kinda." Kanna answered softly.

"You mean to say that you _don't_ want to destroy the city?" Maria asked incredulously, her koubu's cannon wavering slightly.

He waved a hand nonchalantly, "Not really, no. It's a nice city." He shrugged his shoulders. "What would I want with it?"

"The proper question is…what would your _superior_ want with it?" Reni spoke up for the first time.

"Aahh…smart girl. Unfortunately, I cannot answer that question." His smile was friendly, but his eyes had become as hard as the jewels they were colored. "That comes in due time. Now…" he checked the sun overhead, "I have lingered here too long. I'm afraid I have to _bow out_ of this conversation." He inclined his head slightly, his black hair falling silkily forward to frame his face. "One last piece of advice for you though. Your kimono-clad friend harbors a bit of a taste for members of your group. It seems she feels guilty feeding on other people. I would keep a weather eye on those who've _retired_ in particular." He chuckled as he stepped back into the shadow of the tower. "They tend to put up less of a fight once mesmerized by a crimson gaze…"

And then he was gone.

The five koubu left gathered in a circle. There were some muttered concerns between them before they headed back to headquarters, Kanna bringing up the rear and muttering fiercely about not being able to fight anything. Once they disappeared from view, the demon stepped back out, glancing around carefully.

"Why do I have the feeling I forgot something?" He asked the broken Wakiji on the ground next to him. It, of course, made no response. "No, no, I definitely forgot something." He answered regardless. He stared at the severed head of one of the mechs, eyeing it thoughtfully. "Ah…it'll come to me later…Now to get back…" his garnet eyes glanced around for something. Once he found it (surprisingly enough on one of the Wakijis) he muttered softly before stepping sideways and disappearing into thin air.

The air over the battleground was still and nothing moved except for a small black bird alighting on one of the Wakiji. It crumpled underneath the bird's miniscule weight and the demon's voice echoed softly as the bird took flight again.

"Oh crap…I forgot to tell them my name…"

* * *

Thanks to my reviewers! You helped motivate me and made an otherwise dull day bright! 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Sakura Taisen characters are not mine. However, the plot and original characters do, so please do not take them.

Key:

/Dominant personality thinking to recessive/

/_Recessive personality thinking to dominant_/

_Thinking in general_

Don't worry, it'll all make sense shortly…

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The Hanagumi were watching through the observation window as a doctor treated their fallen captain.

"I suppose now would be a good time for that explanation, Maria-san!" Orihime said haughtily as she turned to the Russian, her arms crossed accusingly.

"Hmm?" Maria snapped out of her reverie and faced the incensed Italian with a questioning look only to find the rest of the group looking at her curiously as well.

"Yes," Orihime continued, "The whole 'Sakura-san is out of her mind but she hasn't gone mad' conversation we had."

"Ah…" Maria glanced over to the sleeping Iris before turning back to address the group. "It seems that Sakura has been…possessed."

"And yet, she has become a blood-drinker, hasn't she?" Orihime queried in a low voice.

"It looks that way." Maria hesitantly answered.

The Italian sighed, "I hate to be the one to break this to you…" she rubbed the bridge of her nose with slender fingers "but…" She looked over to Reni, who nodded wordlessly and finished Orihime's sentence.

"It is impossible for blood-drinkers to possess a body." Reni ignored the sudden gain of everybody's attention, instead keeping her blue gaze trained on the Russian. "They can only turn another." Orihime nodded slowly in agreement.

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa_!" Kanna said loudly. "We just went from 'crazy' to 'vampire' in one sentence!"

"Three." Kohran interjected.

"Whatever, my point is, Sakura is no longer human at this point!"

"Well, technically, four sentences…" the engineer trailed off thoughtfully.

"Kohran, why are you so focused on correcting me when Sakura's been _turned into a vampire_?!" Kanna turned on the Chinese girl.

"Would you rather I started running around like you do whenever someone says there's a ghost nearby?"

"Ouch."

"That's what I thought." Kohran smirked, "Right now, we need to concentrate on trying to find ways to locate Sakura-han and turn her back to normal."

"Oi, oi…what about that strange demon? The one we ran into earlier today?" Kanna pressed.

"What about him?" Maria finally rejoined the conversation.

"He mentioned that she was feeling guilty about feeding on people."

"Many new blood-drinkers do." Orihime added. "I know because I've run into a fair amount of them in Italy and as a part of the Hoshigumi."

Reni nodded, "As have I. Central Europe has long been the main area for vampires and other blood-drinkers to group together."

"That still doesn't tell us _how_ she was turned. She wasn't ever bitten, was she?"

"No." Reni answered softly, "To turn a person through a bite, they would have to be completely drained before being given cursed blood. She was never in such a state."

"Tainting the soul?" Orihime offered.

"We took measures to protect the soul while she was dead. It would not have been possible." Reni shook her head.

"Say," Kohran began softly, "Would blood-drinkers have any reaction to purifying rituals?"

"They are not affected by the same rituals that demons are. For example, demons can withstand the Western standard of holy water and presentation of the crucifix whereas blood-drinkers cannot. Blood-drinkers don't have any _youryoku_, so they aren't affected by the traditional purification of surrounding them with _reiryoku_."

"Ok…so why did Sakura-han, who we can safely assume is a blood-drinker of _some_ sort, react to the practice yesterday if blood-drinkers don't react to anything else but water and a couple a' crossed sticks?"

"Wait before you confuse me even further," Kanna warned. "I thought we just agreed that blood-drinkers and demons were two separate things."

"They are," Maria said, "But I think to get down to the bottom of this, we'd have to find Sakura and…_study_ her, so to speak."

Unsettled looks passed over the faces of everyone presently awake. The idea of viewing their friend as a specimen certainly went beyond everyone's comfort level. Kanna cleared her throat and glanced around until her eyes rested on the clock ticking loudly through the silence.

"Oh…h-hey, look at the time!" She chuckled weakly, attempting to break the uncomfortable pause after Maria's statement "No wonder we're all a little stressed, we've…chattered the night away…" she finished in a small voice.

"Yes!" Orihime said with a forced smile, "I think now would be a good time to retire to our rooms. Sleep will do wonders for a body!"

There were murmured agreements as everyone headed to their rooms. Maria carried the small French girl back to her brightly decorated room and tucked her in. She brushed a stray strand of blonde hair back from the girl's face and sighed. Iris had probably been affected worse than anyone else. Her beloved big sister had been killed, revived, and now demonized.

Of course…it didn't sit all that well with her either, but as acting captain of the Flower Division, she had to be the backbone of the group. If she fell prey to her emotions, the outcome would be similar to her last true battle of the Revolution. In other words…it would be disastrous. She couldn't allow that to happen.

She thought back to the incident during the opening night of "Love is a Diamond", where her traitorous comrade had held the lives of countless people hostage in exchange for her own. She had gone fully prepared to end the conflict. Instead, she found herself sorely outmatched and would have surely died had the swordswoman not shown up when she did.

_"You..."_

_"Yes?"_

_"What do you think of destiny?"_

_"…I believe destiny is your own to make."_

It was those words that echoed in her head as she breached her Enfield, emptied it and mimed putting the bullet in. It was those words that convinced her to never kill in cold blood again. The empty barrel rotated and stopped with a click as she pointed it at Valentinov. Sakura rushed toward her, not understanding the gun wasn't loaded, stopping short as the Russian pulled the trigger with a click.

The traitor's slate gray eyes rolled back into his head as he fainted. Maria didn't spare his prone form a second look as she turned away, walking towards Sakura. The bullet in her hand felt strangely warm as she deposited it in the younger woman's hands. Sakura's chocolate brown eyes widened when she finally realized what the Russian had done.

_"The bullet wasn't in there?"_

Maria had only answered with a small smile.

_"You make your own destiny, right?"_ [1

The present Maria sighed again. She wasn't sure if Sakura had ever known just how much she had helped her during that time. If not for her words, Maria was sure that she would've killed Valentinov and subsequently reverted back to her 'Kuassary' persona. And now, she felt she owed the same to Sakura.

The sun's first rays peeked over the horizon and Maria moved over to the window to close the curtains. She gently pulled the drawstring and the fabric rustled softly down to block the morning light.

"Rest well, Iris." She murmured softly to the sleeping girl and left. On her way to her own room, she passed Kanna in the hallway. The Okinawan offered a sympathetic smile, but it faltered slightly when she noticed Maria's tired expression.

"Hey," she put her hand on the Russian's shoulder lightly "we'll find a way to bring her back to our side."

Maria only nodded and murmured a soft thanks to Kanna as she continued down the hall.

A small voice echoed through her mind as she shut the door behind her with a click.

'_She saved your way of life and you helped bring her back. Seems pretty even, doesn't it?'_

"No," Maria whispered, her hand still resting on the cold metal. "That doesn't even begin to repay her." She sighed "I helped _Iris_ bring her back."

She sat down on her bed "No…I owe her so much more…"

The rest of her thoughts trailed off as she lay down and fell into a troubled sleep.

--------------------

The limp body fell to the ground with a dull thud as Sakura stood up to face the intruder.

"What do you want this time?" she narrowed her crimson eyes at the black haired demon, the rising sun behind him giving his head an ironic halo.

"Well, you seem to be fending for yourself all right," he said eyeing the man on the ground, ignoring her demand. "Yakuza?"

"Yes, but you didn't answer me--"

"Is she aware?"

"If she wasn't, I wouldn't be feeding on the scum of the city now would I?" She sneered. "Now answer my question!"

"What makes you think I want something?" He asked innocently.

"You took advantage of me, took advantage of the state I was in, fed me the captain of her unit and had me control him for you." She crossed her arms, "I couldn't _possibly_ think of any other reason to believe you wouldn't do the same this time."

"Hey, I had _no_ idea he was your captain until I returned him." He protested, holding up his hands defensively.

"Sure you didn't," she crossed her arms. "Of course, at that point, I wouldn't have cared less if he was a demon lord. _She_ cared, o-ho, yes she did. Gave me grief all day today about doing your dirty little deed. You're a blood-drinker too, aren't you?"

"Yes, but unlike you, I have lived many years and since then learned to control my bloodlust. You, my fledgling, are just that. Too young and inexperienced to survive by yourself." He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm just trying to help a fellow demon."

"I'm touched," she replied sarcastically, "However, your help is _not_ needed."

"And what happens, in a week's time, when your power will be strong enough to register on their instruments? Or the little girl's psychic perceptions?" he walked towards her slowly, but she stood her ground. "The alarm will go off in that wonderful theater of theirs and they will track you down and _kill_ you."

"So? I'll just use her as a hostage and they won't dare attack."

"Ah, so you don't know?" he smiled good-naturedly at her confused face.

"Know what?"

"Naturally, naturally, _you_ weren't around for this but _she_ was. The Ayame incident ring any bells?"

There was a measured silence from the young demoness before she answered, "Yeah, what about it?"

"If you can't already tell then you'll find out soon enough." He laughed as she growled softly at him.

"What is it with you and dodging questions?" she glared at him as he looked at some graffiti on the walls, "HEY, I'm asking you something!"

"I'm sorry, you were saying?" he glanced back at her calmly.

Her rant was cut off as the man stirred slightly, groaning as he raised a hand to his neck. Both demons glanced at each other before watching the man sit up and look at each of them in turn. He gave a start as he saw Sakura standing in front of him.

"N-no! You just stay away from me! I won't bother you no more! I swea—hrrk!" He was silenced as the dark haired demon swiftly encased his blade in the man's chest and drew it, gleaming red, back out. The body fell back to its horizontal position with a sickening splat. He stared at the bloody blade before offering it, hilt first, to Sakura who turned it politely down.

"Already ate."

"And I'm on orders not to ingest human blood." He muttered under his breath as he wiped the blade off on the dead man's clothing. "Pity, really."

"What?" Sakura looked at him strangely.

"What what?" he asked back with an innocent face.

"Why can't you feed?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, I'm sorry but I cannot answer that question. However…if you consented to join my lord's army…" he trailed off suggestively as he sheathed his sword.

"_No._" she firmly answered.

"Oh that's a shame, it really is. Tell you what, I'll give you six days, then I'll come back. If your answer is still no, well…we'll negotiate something then, 'k?"

"Whatever." She waved him off.

"In the meantime, if you ever _do_ need my help…" At her sudden death glare, he held his hands up defensively, "If! _If_!" he lowered them as she exhaled slowly, keeping her crimson eyes narrowed. "Give a call, why dontcha?"

She sighed, "Will you go away if I agree to this unlikely scenario?"

"Yes."

"And how would that work?" she crossed her arms.

"Call my name and I will come!" He smiled goofily as he poked his own chest with his thumb.

"And your name is…?"

"Pani-chan!"

"Pani-ch…_what_?" she asked incredulously. "That isn't your real name! Tell me that's not your real name…"

"Of course not! I want to be able to reveal my true name with a flair so that everybody will stare at me in awe as I strike a pose, like so!" He placed his feet shoulder-width apart and stretched out his arms as if receiving praise from a crowd of adoring fans.

"Mm-hmm." Sakura slowly said, nodding her head in rhythm to emphasize her sarcasm. "Y'know, if you ever needed another job, I'm sure the Baragumi would be glad to take you in."

"O-ho, no thank you, m'dear." He returned to a normal stance, "In fact, I think I'll conveniently forget you ever said that."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"Don't you dare start." She glared at him.

"Fine." He smiled.

"…"

"And with that, I shall take my leave." 'Pani-chan' chuckled victoriously at her stony-faced look.

"Hmph, see if I care!" she crossed her arms again and turned, walking towards the opposite end of the alley. Sakura turned her head back to glance down the half-lit alley to find nothing but the carcass of the yakuza. "Ch…Smartass."

/_I refuse to be used as a hostage_/ the inner Sakura cried out. /_And find your own name_/

/You really are persistent, aren't you?/ demon Sakura queried back. /I _told_ you that there was no point in my finding a new name! I _am_ you!/

/_No, _I'm _me! You're just some demon who took over my body when I died_/ she scowled mentally.

/Ah, I would beg to differ but you wouldn't get it…/

/_Hey! I'm not as dumb as I seem_/ Sakura growled/_Explain it already!_/

/Fine. I'll explain it simply/ she began in the tone parents take when explaining something to a small child. /I am the embodiment of all your fears, regrets, doubts, etc. A demon may have breathed life into me, but I am still a part of you./

/_I guess that makes sense…but I still don't like it_/

/No one said you had to./ demon Sakura mentally shrugged. There was a mutual silence as she slipped back into the stream of people outside the alley, leaving the dead man behind to be discovered later.

/Now…please to tell me about this…Ayame person?/

* * *

[1 Quotes referring to OVA 2 'The Fearful (?) Assassin from New York' are taken directly from subtitles. AKA i not mine /i . This includes any mention of Valentinov.

A/N: Ay, this chapter was hard to write! If you find anything that ends strangely, let me know and I'll try to fix it! I've also just figured out how to add breaks with so if multiple e-mails were issued, I apologize!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: recognizable SaTai characters belong to RED/Kodansha co.'s, 'Pani-chan' is mine, as well as the plot

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The night of the full moon was fast approaching. There had been disturbing reports in the newspapers about a string of attacks in the capital.

Maria sighed, setting down the morning edition. Three bodies had been found in the past two days, all of them male and all yakuza. The newspapers hadn't listed the cause of death except for the first one, five days ago. That one had died from a blade to the heart. Every one since then had been unmarked at death but had also been drained of blood.

"Anyone else?" Kanna casually asked between bites of her breakfast.

"If there have been, they haven't been found yet." Maria frowned, taking a sip of her tea and placing it gently back down. "How are Tsubaki and Kaede holding up?"

"They're not dead."

"That's very helpful, thank you." The Russian said sarcastically, earning a glance from Kanna.

"Are you feeling ok, Maria? It's not like you to be so…snippy." The glare she earned in return was deadly enough to make her choke on the mouthful of rice she had.

"Look. We're all worried about Sakura and whatever schizophrenic episode she seems to be having, but you need to calm down. You look like you're about to go down the warpath." Kanna continued when she saw Maria automatically take another sip of her tea "Against who is what I would like to know."

"Ah, has Kanna-san finally become civilized?" Sumire crowed triumphantly, "I don't believe I've ever heard her use such large words before!"

"Tch," Kanna exhaled sharply "It's too early to be dealing with some cactus woman who's prickly enough to protect herself."

"Kanna, I seem to remember you arguing the loudest to bring her back here." Orihime spoke up. A light blush crossed the Okinawan's cheeks and she grumbled under her breath as she ate another huge mouthful of rice.

"Just lookin' out for my own, 's all."

Sumire fell silent as Maria stood up, tea cup and platter in hand, and stiffly walked to the kitchen. She exited the dining hall moments later, wordlessly and leaving the air feeling colder than it should have been. Orihime followed a short while later after exchanging looks with the two older women.

"You know, Kanna-san, I don't think I've ever seen Maria-san this serious before." Sumire softly commented as she took Maria's vacated seat across from Kanna.

"Wouldn't you be the same if someone important to you was in the same position as Sakura right now? Wouldn't you try to do everything possible to keep them out of danger?" the Okinawan asked as she held the plate a few inches off of the table, chopsticks poised for another scoop of rice.

Sumire paused, contemplating Kanna's sudden serious mood. Was she referring to herself as well?

"I suppose so."

They remained silent as gunshots echoed dimly down the hall. Evidently, the Russian had gone to the shooting range to relieve her frustrations on invisible demons.

---------------

The weight of her Enfield was a welcome one. Every shot helped release the frustration Maria was feeling.

_Why am I getting so worked up over this? What happened to my supposed 'cool intellect'?_

She set the gun on the counter in front of her and flicked the switch on her right. The target moved forward and she let out a frustrated growl as she noted where the bullets had hit. Of the six, two were in the circle that marked where the heart was, two more were mere centimeters away from the 'heart', one had strayed to the left shoulder while the other marked the solar plexus.

Never before had the Russian been so far off with her marksmanship. Her right hand gripped the counter until her knuckles turned white.

_I would be worried if any of my friends were in this situation, but when I know __it's__ Sakura, all rational thought leaves me!_

Maria released the counter and moved back until her back met with the cool wall. She allowed her legs to give way and she slowly slid down until she was in a sitting position. Tears of frustration welled up in her eyes. The cool solitude of the firing range offered her the chance to sort through the sudden overflow of emotion without interference.

Her easy-to-irritate attitude over the past few days suddenly made a great deal more sense now that her emotion barrier was broken.

That same welcome solitude was eventually broken by a frantic Kanna, who burst through the door suddenly.

"Maria, there's been an…hey, are you ok?"

She was by the Russian in a flash. Maria gave a muffled response without raising her head from its resting position on her knees.

"What?"

"I said I'm fine, Kanna." Crying had a strange effect on the Russian. Her face had gained a reddish hue but her eyes remained as clear as ever. "Now why did you come rushing in?" When it appeared that Kanna had chosen to ignore her question, she tiredly sighed "Interrogate me later."

Kanna was taken back. Maria never offered herself up for her so-called "interrogations."

"O-ok. Something happened at the jailhouse and we've been called out."

"Everybody?"

"No, just us and Reni.

"The jailhouse?"

"Yeah. They'll explain when we get there."

--------------------

They arrived at the scene a short while later, dressed in their battle uniforms as per their orders from high command.

"What seems to be the problem, Captain?" Maria asked.

"We've been attacked by the rogue. The one that's been in the newspapers this past week."

He led them inside the building. Once inside, they saw a pair of iron doors, heavy enough that it would normally take to full-grown men to open them. However, one of the doors had been ripped completely off of its hinges.

They advanced further and soon the smell of blood was overwhelming. A nearby cell was open and they peered in. The former inmate was propped against the wall, a trail of blood traveling down the side of his neck. Closer inspection showed no wound. They winced and continued on, meeting similar scenes of death.

"Was anybody left alive?" Kanna asked.

"One, but he's been pretty shaken up by this whole thing."

"But he's somewhere safe, right?"

"Yes."

A nod from Maria showed her appreciation. They continued on, passing more cells in silence. Reni stopped at an empty cell, devoid of the taint of death. Her trained ears had caught someone's soft, wheezing breath from within the seemingly empty cell.

"Who was being held in that one?" the German asked, startling the others as they hadn't noticed that she had fell behind.

The officer walked back, checking the number outside of the slightly opened door.

"Well…this one actually held the one that's still alive, so it shouldn't have anyone inside it right now…Why?"

Kanna had just enough time to pull the officer back from the open door before a blur burst out from the dark room. Reni was not as lucky; the giant blur crashed into her, smashing her into the wall behind her.

The German coughed as someone grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air. She managed to crack open an ice-blue eye. She could only see the air in front of her shimmering, although she was painfully aware of the lack of air she was getting.

Maria loosed her Enfield and fired a warning shot at the same disturbance in the air and Reni was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. Someone cursed softly and another, larger blur exited the open cell quickly, latching on to the first and dragging them out of the prison altogether.

The Russian ran over to her fallen comrade as Kanna barked out orders to the shaken police officer and followed him out.

"Are you ok, Reni?"

Reni winced as she tried to answer, eventually giving up and nodding her head. There was already bruising on her pale skin in the shape of a hand.

Kanna returned quickly and scooped the young German up in her strong arms.

"They aren't here anymore, but keep your gun out…just in case."

"I was already planning to."

----------------------

Sakura had woken up that same morning with an unexplainable thirst. She sat up from her position on the dusty floor of the abandoned house she had found on the outskirts of the capital. A pang of hunger caused her to double up in pain.

"Ow." She muttered under her breath.

Her body felt strangely dull although her senses were sharper than ever.

"Sleep well?" a male voice asked. The self-proclaimed 'Pani-chan' slipped out of the shadows.

"Oh god…not so early in the morning!" she groaned, wincing as her stomach cramped again.

"Morning?" A slender black eyebrow rose, "It's nearly 2 in the afternoon…but enough of that. How are you feeling?"

"Why do you even care?"

"Just tell me."

"I feel like everything is pressing in on me..." her stomach interjected, growling loudly, "and I'm really hungry…"

"And the Light one?"

"What?" She groaned as another pang of hunger hit her.

'Pani-chan' knelt before her.

"Can you hear her?"

"Yes…but she's faint."

"Good…you're right on track then."

"For what?"

"Your Awakening."

She somehow managed an incredulous look through the pain her stomach was causing her. "My _what_?"

"Awakening. The time when a demon's power matures. For our type it happens to be the first full moon after the host's resurrection."

"That makes absolutely no sense!"

"It will be after you see your wings."

"Wings?!" Her eyes widened, "Just what type of demon am I?!"

He motioned for her to quiet down "Not so loud!" he sighed in relief as she had only referred to herself in her question...that meant that she hadn't noticed his little slip-up. "Now, _what_ you are is complicated and will be better understood once you have some food in you.. Since you've already refused me, I cannot let you drink my blood, so wait here and I'll find you something to eat."

She didn't answer him right away, but nodded her head slowly.

"Try to maintain focus on who you are, don't let the bloodlust take you over, I'll be back as soon as possible."

She glared sullenly at him as her stomach rumbled again and silently acquiesced. He nodded and left.

It wasn't long afterward that she could feel something warm moving along the side of the house. She tried to ignore it but her hunger overpowered it and her body moved stealthily towards the wall and the warmth behind it. The stench of alcohol somehow drifted through the wood and it drew her still forward until she realized that there was no warm body on the other side of the wall.

Her hungered mind had created a convincing hallucination of what had become her 'preferred' prey: the drunkard, the Yakuza, the one who would have died soon regardless.

A soft whimper escaped from her throat as she realized how desperately hungry she was once again. The air around her suddenly shifted and she found herself in a dark, musty cell. Its inhabitant woke suddenly at her appearance, his dark brown eyes glaring into her dark red and she saw why he was there. He was a criminal, responsible for the deaths of three girls at his own hands. This one was awaiting his execution…

The next thing she noticed was the warm blood flowing down her throat as she drained his life away. Her overpowering hunger had lessened, not by much, but enough for her to feel more in control of herself. Still…how she longed to stalk over to the next cell, for the next meal, to once more savor the liquid of life…

Each death row inmate she drained made her hunger lessen, but at the same time, the need for blood became more intense. Her estranged mind wondered at one time why no guards were around, but that thought was brushed away as her heightened senses felt the elder demon's _youryoku_ at work, befuddling the minds of guards and inmates alike. That would also explain why no one screamed or fought when she entered their cages, why they all subjected willingly…

The black haired demon was waiting for her outside the last cell, but she paid him no heed as she slipped in to find the last prisoner fast asleep, looking deject as he huddled in the darkest corner. What crime had this one committed, she wondered in her bemused state, to make him seem so helpless? She unraveled the magic that kept him asleep and he slowly opened his dark eyes. She crouched before him and he met her crimson gaze meekly, unsure of who she was or why she was there.

She drew back unwillingly from him. He had no place in this prison, he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Lack of evidence had given the court no choice but to sentence him to death row.

Still, the scent of his growing fear was throwing her senses wild and she desperately wanted to feed from this innocent…his blood would be so much more sweeter than the blood of the impure...

"_NO_!!" She cried in unison with the long-repressed voice of the 'true' Sakura. She stumbled backwards until she hit the wall.

"Get out." She hissed softly. When the man made no move to escape, she glared at him before roaring loudly, "_GET OUT_!!"

He clambered for the exit, whimpering as he stumbled down the long hallway towards the open door. He shot past the dazed guards standing just outside and doubled back to warn them of the intruder. It didn't take them long to snap back to their senses. They pulled the door shut just as something crashed into it from the other side. The steel door was suddenly pulled off of its hinges and the guards whipped out their pistols and fired haphazardly at the empty space the door had recently occupied.

'Pani-chan' had managed to set up an invisibility spell around himself and his frenzied companion before she had gotten to the door. He managed to pull her back in time so the bullets from the guards missed. He dragged her back to the now empty cell and held her against the wall in order to keep her quiet.

Minutes later, three women came walking down the deserted hallway. He recognized their voices to be the same from the strange mechas he had talked to earlier that week.

"Who was being held in that one?" a softly accented voice asked from right outside the door. Something crashed into the taller demon's knee and he released Sakura in order to sooth the pain shooting throughout his leg.

The swordswoman shot out of the room, smashing into the smaller German. Her frenzied state didn't let her recognize her former comrade as she grabbed her by the throat and lifted her easily into the air. The warning shot from the Russian grazed her arm, causing her to drop Reni onto the stone floor. She managed to glance in Maria's general direction before 'Pani-chan' latched onto her waist and flew swiftly out of the jailhouse.

_That was too close_. he thought to himself.

Trapped within her own body, the 'Light' Sakura could only dwell on the look the Russian had on her face before she had been whisked away.

A look of pure hatred.

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Wow, this has been a long time coming! It took months to accomplish what I had hoped would only take a few weeks! Ay-yi-yi… Thanks for your patience, everybody!

Read and Review, por fa!


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura absently licked away the blood from the wound Maria had given her. The buzz from over-feeding was creeping up on her and her eyes dimmed as she slowly fell asleep.

'Pani-chan' had taken her back to the abandoned house he had found her in. Despite her out-of-control behavior a few minutes prior, she was now sleeping peacefully. He smiled wryly; her Awakening would go easier than his own had. The last rays of the sun shone through the one of the broken windows.

_Get your rest, Sakura_ 'Pani-chan' thought, _you're in for a rough night._

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By the time they returned to the Teigeki, the sun had set. Kanna rushed the injured German to the medical bay where Iris immediately attached herself to Reni's side.

"What happened?" She asked.

"She…caught me by surprise." Reni weakly answered.

"Stay here with her." Kanna said quietly to the French girl. She received an "are –you-mad?" look from Iris.

"Iris was going to anyway!"

Kanna sighed and, nodding her thanks, left the room to console her oldest friend. The Okinawan walked solemnly past a bickering pair that consisted of Sumire and Orihime, making them fall silent once they realized who had passed by so quietly. She ignored them and continued to the dorms.

When she reached Maria's room, she knocked softly on the wooden door. There was no answer, so she opened the door. However, the Russian was not to be found in her room. This worried Kanna, as Maria was in a high-stress situation and she always had her Enfield close by.

Maria entered her room a short while later, startling Kanna slightly.

"Kanna, were you looking for me?"

The Okinawan was taken aback by Maria's congenial tone.

"Are you feeling ok?"

"No, but being depressed isn't going to solve my problems this time."

She set her gun holster down on her bedside table.

"So then…what are you planning to do?"

The Russian held out her closed fist and dropped something small and metallic into Kanna's hand.

Kanna looked at the small object, noticing that there was some dried blood, and it was dark red.

"She's still human?"

"At this point, yes."

"Even with what she's been doing? With what she did today?"

"I have to believe so, yes."

"But she killed…!"

"Only the criminals or those with no future…she's still in there somewhere and I plan on bringing her back."

Kanna could hear the determination in her friend's voice and knew any further talks on the subject would end with those same words.

"Get some rest and I'll help you look for her in the morning."

A tired smile was her only answer.

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The alarm in the Teigeki started blaring loudly around midnight and Sakura woke with a start. What was she doing back in the theater house basement and why had the alarms gone off? Her crimson eyes adjusted quickly to the dark. There was no sign of the older demon that had been so willing to help her.

"You jerk…!"

A sharp pain flashed through her head and she winced, bringing her hands up to soothe the pain and she noticed that she was no longer wearing her pink kimono. It had been replaced with a black, loose fitting outfit that revealed the tattooed skin on her back.

_Pervert!_ she thought again as she searched for someplace to hide in the near barren room. A spell of dizziness hit her so suddenly, the giant screen before her twisted and churned like a maelstrom.

The alarm tore at her nerves, her amplified hearing making the loud noise unbearable

She still felt a little woozy from her feeding binge earlier that day, so it took her awhile to notice the swiftly growing crowd behind her. The alarm finally stopped ringing.

"Who are you?" a familiar voice asked her. She said nothing but turned around instead.

Her "Light", who had been muted ever since that morning, made a vain attempt to take back "her" body. Nothing happened.

Sakura measured up her former comrades. Her dark crimson eyes traveled across each member, placing names with faces. Kohran, Orihime, Kanna, Sumire…

Her gaze landed on the gun that was aimed at her. She met Maria's emerald gaze and finally spoke.

"Are you going to shoot me, Maria-san?"

The shock on everybody's face was also evident on the normally reserved Russian's face as well.

"S-Sakura-san?"

Kanna rounded on the former actress.

"Hey, I thought I told you to stay in your room!"

"And since when do I listen to a hulking great ape like you?!"

The impromptu fight would have escalated if Orihime hadn't chosen that exact point to elbow Kanna harshly in the ribs. Normally, the Italian would have been more than happy to join the verbal abuse between the two, but given the present circumstances she instead chose to nip it in the bud.

Kanna glared at the dark-haired girl and received the same in return. The redhead hastily turned around, "politely "asking Sumire to at least stay behind her.

Sakura stood facing the group, her face emotionless because of her muddled thoughts.

The engineer took a cautious step towards who she considered her friend.

"Sakura-han, is it really you?" She paused as Kanna stopped her from going any further.

Sakura was feeling more and more like she had been continuously downing one cup of sake after another. She felt strangely detached from her body.

Somewhere in the Teigeki, a bell began to toll midnight. The stupor she was in barely helped the sudden pain that began to course through her body. She could feel a large, dark power building up inside of her. She stumbled forward a few steps, holding her head with two hands in agony.

"It hurts…" she gritted out, her eyes clenched shut. The next time her eyes opened, they were a clear, vivid red instead of her usual dark and calm crimson. Without warning, she fell to her knees on the floor; head still firmly head between two tattooed hands. A wave of dark energy was released, causing a sudden chill to travel down everybody's spines.

Maria's Enfield clattered to the ground a fair distance away from its master. The wave had blasted the gun from her nerveless hand even as she remained unaffected. The crash brought her out of her shock and she saw, truly saw, the huddled girl on the cold floor in front of her. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat.

A pair of wings, blacker than night, had burst from the bare skin on Sakura's back. Onyx feathers rustled as the wings shivered. It was hard to tell, in the dim light of the room, just how big they were.

She suddenly launched herself at Maria, causing the latter to dive towards her fallen firearm. She swiftly moved in the opposite direction as the gun, aiming to escape. Kanna managed to snag one of her arms, throwing her towards the waiting Hanagumi. Unperturbed, she spread her wings in flight, flaring them suddenly as she bowled into Sumire and sent them both crashing to the ground. Maria grabbed her gun and took aim.

"Sumire!" Kanna ran forward, realizing her mistake too late as she wrestled Sakura away from the retired actress. She held one of the black wings in a stronghold as she delivered several quick blows to the smaller woman's stomach. Her last blow, a particularly strong one, drove the air from Sakura's lungs with an audible 'hooof!' along with a bit of blood that had been forced out of her stomach.

Sakura drove an elbow sharply into Kanna's lower ribs, causing the tall Okinawan to release her wing. Kanna stumbled backwards cradling more than a couple of broken ribs and leaving herself wide open for the next attack. The shorter demoness sent the redhead flying into the far wall with a single stroke of her onyx wing. Kanna slid down the wall and slowly crumpled to the ground unconscious next to Sumire.

A shot echoed in the room. Pain bloomed from Sakura's left wing as the bullet imbedded itself in the joint where the wing met the shoulder. Her gaze shifted quickly from the quivering Sumire to the poised Maria, clear red eyes wide in surprise. She dodged the next three shots well enough until an expertly-placed shot pierced the skin of her leg. She crashed to the floor, unable to move any further. Her wounds refused to heal themselves, she noticed wryly, as a thick layer, of ice covered them. She refrained from growling lowly because that same ice wouldn't even begin to melt until the Russian withdrew her _reiryoku_ from the bullets.

"Stand down."

Bright red eyes met the barrel of Maria's revolver. How many shots had she fired? Five, she quickly recounted. The Enfield was still loaded.

"How? I can't even stand!" Even in this situation she couldn't resist…

The hammer clicked back.

"Stand down." She repeated emotionlessly. The swordswoman said nothing.

Satisfied with the answer – or lack thereof— she kept the gun trained on the younger woman while she focused her emerald gaze on Kohran and Orihime, the only other Hanagumi members that hadn't been injured.

"Get Kanna and Sumire to the infirmary. When you get there, I want you two to stand guard."

"But Maria-han—"

"I am your acting captain here! Do as I've told you!" she snapped.

It was unusual for Maria to pull rank on her fellow actresses, but then again, this was anything but a normal battle.

The Italian shared a concerned glance with the engineer before they both saluted.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Between the both of them, they were able to carry the slow-to-wake Okinawan with Sumire's assistance out of the debriefing room.

Sakura looked from the group leaving to the Russian's face. Maria's trademark emotionless expression was broken by one thing; a glistening tear making its way down her cheek.

Even the 'Dark' swordswoman feel a twitch of guilt somewhere inside. The momentary surprise allowed the effects of Kanna's attacks to her stomach to make them known. She growled softly to cover her groan.

Kanna had either caused internal bleeding or her aim was to make her lose her meal because her mouth suddenly filled with a coppery-tasting liquid.

She spat it contemptuously out as she turned her head away. She frowned; even the loss of blood that wasn't her own made her feel weak. Her arms were threatening to give way and her control over the body as waning. What had happened to her influx of power only minutes prior? How weak must she appear to the human in front of her, the one she sought to fight and…submit to?

"Release her."

Why should she list…en…?

Her body fell onto the bloody floor underneath her as power was returned to the "Light." The wings and tattoos remained, but the next time Sakura opened her eyes, they were their normal chocolate brown.

Imagine her surprise at the sight of the Enfield still aimed at her. She tried to scramble backwards only to slip in the red liquid beneath her so she settled for freezing where she was, staring fearfully into the barrel of the gun. The 'Light' Sakura had been shut away once her darker half had gone through its Awakening.

The expression on the swordswoman's face was almost exactly the same as when the hapless country girl had come to her room to apologize for disrupting the final act of "Romeo and Juliet." Maria had greeted her with the same weapon although it was for a very different reason.

"M-maria-san?"

Her voice broke the spell of quiet in the till air of the debriefing room. The Russian shook her head to get rid of her soldier state of mind. Her Enfield suddenly felt unusually heavy and she was torn; one part of her mind was screaming at her to throw away the weapon and embrace the woman struggling to sit up on the floor, the other was coolly telling her to retain her revolver and remain as detached as she would normally be.

Both were satisfied as the Enfield slid back into its leather holster. However, any contact with Sakura's bare flesh was short-lived as she felt feverish and her skin unbearably hot.

Now the swordswoman was propped up against the wall and Maria sat to her right. There was an uncomfortable minute of silence between the two.

"Maria-san?" The younger woman's voice echoed timidly in the near-empty room.

"Hmm?"

"I…" she winced, moving into the best bow she could manage with a leg encased in ice. The same went for her frozen wing, for it dragged her almost comically over to one side as she knelt forward onto her hands. "I'm sorry. If I had just told somebody sooner, maybe all of this wouldn't have happened."

"You had no way to tell what was going to happen." A heavily accented voice echoed Maria's thoughts.

They both turned to look at the intruder. She was a fair-skinned European, German by her accent. Even her chestnut-colored hair had a distinctly foreign sheen to it. Her bright blue eyes seemed to have the ability to gaze into a person's soul and, despite her 25 year-old appearance, held a wisdom that was many times her age. The blue miko garb of the Yumegumi seemed strange on her, but they vouched for why she was there.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Margaret –"

She was cut off a sudden coughing noise. Attention shifted from the newcomer to the dark-winged woman. One red eye glared vividly at the priestess while the other was clenched shut in pain. However, as quickly as her darker half had risen it was subdued with a wave of energy from the German. The exhausted swordswoman sank to the cold floor, trying to catch her breath.

"She was reacting to my _reiryoku_," Margaret explained, eyeing the woman lying on the floor carefully "her kind doesn't get along well with purification-type energies."

"Her kind?" Maria's eyes widened marginally, "You know what she is?"

"More or less." She shrugged, "I'm no expert but I daresay I know more about them than the average person." She took the Russian's silence as a prompt, "She is a 'fallen angel'; a soul torn from the heavens, usually by a demonic being. Am I to take that it was you and your comrades that tried to call her back?"

Maria remained silent a little too long. "Was it wrong of us to do so?"

She gained an understanding look. "No, but it would have been impossible for humans, even spiritually adept ones such as yourself, to bring her back by yourselves." A look of sympathy—or was it pity? – crossed Margaret's face. "She must have had a strong desire or regret for a demon to bother with bringing her back…but we are slowly getting off subject." The priestess smiled softly.

"A demon?"

"Yes and a hybrid at that. You see, fallen angels take on the features of the demons that bring them back, or those of another 'Fallen'. Put simply, what called back her soul was a blood-drinking member of either category. True blood-drinkers –those called 'Vampires' – don't have the ability to 'tear' a soul from Heaven."

The Russian looked at the recuperating Sakura on the floor next to her. She wasn't breathing so hard now, but she was intently observing the conversation between them.

"What will happen to me?"She asked softly. "Will I end up like Ayame-san?"

Margaret shook her head. "You have the opportunity to be bound to a neutral energy source, one that won't affect your personality or free will."

"What about my 'Dark' half? Why does she exist? What happens to her?"

The German laughed uneasily, "So many questions! Why she exists is a complicated subject in itself, one that I'm not sure _I_ even understand!" She sighed, regaining her stature, "As for what'll happen, she'll be bound along with your Fallen aspects."

Binding doesn't erase your abilities," she continued, "You'll still be able to access them, but only once the seal has been released by the binder or, shall we say…by Maria?"

"What?" Maria's eyes narrowed a fraction, her attention drawn back to the conversation.

Margaret, completely unfazed by the Russian's sudden glare in her direction, kept speaking.

"You're the only one here with the level of spiritual energy required to keep the seal intact and the darker half listened to you didn't she? And besides you seem to c—"

"I get it!" She hissed softly, gaining both a victorious grin from the priestess and a raised eyebrow from the swordswoman. _By God,_ Maria seethed mentally, _Who is this woman? She holds no regard for personal feelings and sees fit to expose whatever she needs to! Damn it all…_

"I have no objections to being bound to Maria-san." A soft voice brought the Russian out of her inner agonizing. "But if she is against it…" she trailed off, her eyes trained on the floor in front of her.

Maria hesitated, giving a heavy sigh before speaking lowly, "I have nothing against it if it means that Sakura will be able to safely join us again."

Years of no emotions allowed her to fight the blush that threatened to rise as she spoke those words. Sakura made a small noise and glanced at the floor.

"Very well, I'll get started with the sealing mandala.

Margaret started humming softly as she drew the mandala, leaving the other two sitting in silence. Maria had pulled her _reiryoku_ back from the bullets and now water dripped steadily from the wing. The ice had instantly sublimed off of her leg because of her unusually high body temperature. The bullet clattered to the floor seconds later.

The brown-eyed swordswoman paused, watching as the torn skin mended itself. Slender fingers picked up the small metallic object on the floor.

"I must've been acting horribly if she had to resort to this…" she murmured to herself while inspecting the bullet. The melting wing shook itself absently free of water, unknowingly causing its mistress severe pain for the other bullet was still firmly lodged in the joint.

Margaret was still humming away. Maria stood up and walked over to the German priestess.

"It's almost finished." Margaret said before the Russian even had a chance to ask. Maria stood in silence before another question was formulated, but before she could get it out…

"Done!" Margaret chirped, all traces of her former seriousness were gone. What kind of training had she gone through?

"Here's what happens." She said, interrupting the Russian once again before the question was asked. "This," she motioned to the elaborate working on the floor, "is the seal."

"On the floor?"

"On the floor." She reiterated. "What it will do, once activated, is 'pull' the tattoos on her body to a spot on the small of her back and rearrange them to match this mandala. Don't worry," she added "it won't hurt her much if at all. From what I've been told, it itches horribly."

"Really…?" Maria asked curiously.

"Yes." The German answered. "Now, on the seal is in place you have to transfer some of you _reiryoku_ to her, so the seal can finish the binding process."

"And how is that done?"

The look Margaret gave was perhaps even more disturbing than her cheerful demeanor.

"How else? Through a kiss!"

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Author's Notes: I apologize for any OOC in this chapter (particularly with Maria-sama).

As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!


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